Professor Ceedric
by prof-shader
Summary: Cedric the Chemistry teacher. A little jumping off point for the college AU I was thinking about earlier. Thanks to OctiOli for reading this over for me and Crapolice for the wonderful cover image!
1. Ceedric

When he first met her she seemed like just a slip of a girl. She had wandered into the Science Departments Lecture Hall, wearing a pleated skirt and royal blue cardigan, with the crest of a nearby private academy that was embroidered on its breast. Even if she hadn't caused such a disturbance coming in fifteen minutes late through the main halls conspicuous oaken door – in which all eyes in the room snapped up towards the sound of creaking wood – she stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Excuse me, is this the Intro to Chemistry lecture with…", she pulled out a slip of paper and squinted at the looped cursive letters scrawled across it."Mr Ceedric Goodwin?"

"It's _Ced_ ric." He corrected testily and gave her school uniform a cursory glance. He arched an eyebrow.

"And are you sure you're in the correct class? Or school for that matter?"

"Oh! Yes, I'm a student from Dunwitty Prep, and I got lost around this large campus, but am sure this is the right class now!" The girl was practically glowing with pride.

"My school sent me here for an advanced science program."

" _Well, isn't that just wonderful_. Regardless, my dear, please take a seat", he said, motioning impatiently for her to move, "class has already started."

Her enthusiasm undamped, she quickly hurried to the only open seat in the crowded auditorium, smack in the middle of the first row. Cedric began quickly writing an outline of what he would be covering in the first quarter of the lecture, listing about a dozen points the final exam was going to cover. He then circled the top term 'Atomic Structure' three times.

"This lecture we will be focusing on atoms, namely their orbitals…", as he turned his back to the class, he could feel the students begin to tune out. This wasn't surprising, as all the students were required to take some form of this lectured to fulfil their general education units and thus were practically forced to sit in the auditorium for three hours once a week. Poor lowly Cedric Goodwin was charged with the duty of practically talking himself hoarse each week.

"And thus, the principal quantum number indicates…", he drawled on, watching the seas of eyes began to glaze over, or glance down inconspicuously towards their phones. All but one pair of large blue eyes that was at the front of the class, slitting between looking up at him and writing quick spurts of information in her childish purple notebook. For a moment she caught his roaming gaze, and looked at him with such an intense look that his blandly memorized recital of some-or-another chemical definition slowed a beat. He tried to register the look on her face.

Her peachy glossed lips were pulled into a subdued smile, yet her wide, hungry eyes were sparkling with an intense interest, an interest in his lecture. As he realised this, her typical high school nativite seemed markedly more charming, and her bright attitude infectious. He straightened himself up and began to draw intricate examples of 'd' orbitals on the large chalkboard.

"This particular type of orbital is much easier to express visually, so for reference, it's easier to think about them like this instead." He wrote their corresponding formulaic notations beneath them with a flourish, before turning back to face the class. Some of the student had begun to perk up at his sudden change of tone, even started to jot down notes. A confident smirk slid over his face, and he gave a quick look at his most eager pupil, who was beaming back at him.

"Now, there are some slight variations that you may see on upcoming tests. No promises they would show up, but I highly encourage you to review these particular ones that I find tricky…" He turned back to blackboard and continued drawing enthusiastically.

'Perhaps…' he thought to himself as he sketched out several more equations.

'This quarter won't be so much of a bore after all!'


	2. Knock

'Drat, still no progress…'

Cedric Goodwin held up the vial of turbid water closer to his eyes, squinting through his stylishly thick lab goggles to see if it looked any different than 30 minutes ago. He was in the grad student assigned chemistry lab on campus in the late afternoon, as usual, in order to avoid any students or other faculty. Once he made it through these doors, he rarely was disturbed by anyone. Yes, this modest private laboratory was a bit less organized then he would have liked (unmarked vials, loose papers with notes scrawled in his slanted cursive, a misaligned safety poster on the wall…). but it was his own little sanctuary. It was a rare space where he wouldn't be pestered by obnoxious needs of others-

At least... that was what he had believed before a bright voice behind him sang out.

"Oh, there you are Mr. Ceedric!"

Startled, the associate professors' grip loosened, dropping the vial of brownish liquid in a tinkling shatter against the linoleum floor.

"Tesla's teacups…" he muttered eyeing the mess. With a flick of his wrist he pushed up his lab goggles and turned slightly towards the way of the voice so his youngest student could get the full effect of his sharp glare. " _Miss. Sofia_ , why shouldn't I be surprised..."

Sofia's hands had flown to cover her mouth, wishing that she could stuff her interruption back behind her teeth once she realized her greeting had caused him such a startle.

'She looks like a silly schoolgirl,' he thought absently 'just standing there in shock.' Part of him felt a twinge of pride over the fact he could make her speechless in fear. The exhilarating feeling of being intimidating was just as rare an occurrence as his being disturbed in his 'workshop'.

Sofia had now snapped her wide eyed gawking from the mess she had caused on the floor up to meet Cedric's demeaning gaze. Her eyes were big and shining so brightly that he feared for a moment that she would break into tears. A smattering of guilt washed over him that caused his expression to soften.

"I-I'll get that!" she blurted out and started to kneel down before the slowly spreading puddle, but Cedric raised a gloved hand that froze her in her place.

"There's no need. I can manage this myself..." he sighed, agitation crawling across his features. He felt like he was babysitting his niece, having to watch over some waif before she got into trouble.

"It's totally my fault though!" Sofia countered, pouting, and reached out again. Suddenly, his own gloved hand grasped her thin wrist before it could touch a single shard on the floor.

"If you insist on helping, at least follow proper precautions and put on some gloves. The last thing i need is a child getting injured under my supervision." he muttered, brow knitted.

Sofia blinked and her scared expression soured, knitting her eyebrows together in distaste.

"I'm 18, I'll have you know. I'm a full adult." she slipped her hands into two purple disposable gloves that a Cedric had motioned to as he looked around for a dustpan and broom. He gave an undisguised scoff that made her cheeks burn.

"You can hardly even be considered a "spring chicken"! Not even a quarter of your lifespan has passed, you barely are a hatchling." he had found the broom and began sweeping up the stray bits of glass. Sofia took an absorbent mat from a safety clean-up box on the wall and placed it over the remaining liquid. She frowned, but didn't bother to continue arguing. When she stood up, she noticed there were red circles right below her knees from where she had knelt on the cool tile. She straightened her skirt with a tug in an attempt to cover them, before looking up, and startled meet his stare again.

He was wearing a crisp white lab coat that he must have purchased himself, much higher quality than the starchy student ones she wore in high school. His legs were crossed casually as he leaned against the counter he had been working on, and Sofia noticed- his slim black slacks lifting up just enough to reveal- his forest green argyle socks. For some reason Sofia found this particular detail about him almost charming, despite the situation. He seemed too taciturn for pleasures like colored socks, but she supposed everyone had their own surprises. Cedric drummed his fingers rhythmically against the edge of the counter and cleared his throat impatiently.

"Now, are you going to tell me what is so important that you burst into my workspace without knocking?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. "Or are you going to have me guess, hm?"

Sofia looked towards the floor again. Mr. Cedric's intensity was what made his lectures so engaging for her, but was also what made it hard to find the words for what she had wanted to say to him.

"I-…I'm having trouble with the coursework. Still! After I read and reread the chapters you assign, and take notes, but between coming here from Dunwitty and cramming for SATs I don't think I can keep up with your class…"

"The work you turn in is average, yes, but a lot better than a lot of other students. And you have yet to fail a test yet, if my memory serves me right." he rested his chin on his fist thoughtfully, mentally going through the purple-penned work the girl often turned in. He had never really considered behind those loops of plum colored ink she was struggling so much.

"I'm barely keeping my head above water…" she admitted, her voice quiet.

Cedric hummed in gentle understanding. He remembered growing up, his father the head of a Science Department at a distinguished school, and the weight of high expectations that was laid on his shoulders at a young age. He had been given various texts with demeaning titles like "Chemistry for Idiots" when he failed to measure up to his father's standards, and they had gathered like a heap of heavy bricks on his desk, each addition filling him with an anxious dread. In a lot of ways, even with a Master's Degree and a Doctorate on the way, he felt he still hadn't managed to impress the old man! He couldn't even start to imagine the stress Sofia must be going through though, attending an advanced class while simultaneously jumping the hoops required for getting into a good college.

"I love your class, truly! It's the highlight of my week…" she said warmly, a bittersweet smile on her face and her eyes a bit downcast through her lashes. Cedric's ears perked up at this. No one had ever told him that they 'loved' his class, let alone that it was a highlight. Sofia sighed, and continued:

" but if I can't even get _into_ this university then I probably don't belong in it yet. That's why... I think it's best I drop the advancement program and-"

"Nonsense." he snapped, waving away the rest of her words with a gloved hand.

Sofia blinked. She was not expecting that. "E-excuse me, sir?"

He pushed himself off from his casual lean against the lab table and stepped closer to her, hey blue eyes looking up to him not sure what to expext.

"I said that's rubbish. You are doing exceedingly well in my class, for someone who has yet to even enter university. A quarter of first year students fail to even pass the course the first time around, you know."

Sofia shook her head. She hadn't known.

"You said you enjoyed this class, so why nip the bud before it's blossomed?" he nodded his head, sure of himself. "Someone your age with your passion for science is someone that needs to be encouraged, Miss. Sofia. So your request for resignation from my course is hereby denied."

Sofia hadn't realized she had stopped breathing until she had quietly gasped at his firm denial. To say she was flustered was a bit of an understatement.

"B-but my slipping grades-" she stammered as her cheeks began to color under his stare, and she started to recount the reasons on her fingers "and the textbook-"

"You understand the course material when I present it in class, correct?" he said, cutting her off. She nodded slowly, and he smirked at her and nodded back. "In that case, forget that bloody book- my father wrote it years ago and it's dry as a bone, I don't fault you for a second for not finding it helpful. Instead of spending hours on that drab book, I'll walk you through the materials we can't cover during class time. It will be a lot quicker that way, and besides it will help with my own textbook I'm working on..."

"You're writing a book, Mr. Ceedric?" Sofia said, eyes suddenly sparkling with admiration. Cedric coughed and looked away from her, his cheeks burning a bit too now. He hadn't really told anyone else about his plans to write an introductory text for his class to replace his father's but saying it aloud to her felt… acceptable.

"For the last time, it's 'Cedric'." he replied flatly, trying to change the subject.

"Mr. Cedric." she corrected herself. She gave him a sheepish smile "And… you would really do all that, for me?"

"Like I said, it would help me with my work as well. So long as you don't mind me recording the lectures..."

"I don't mind!" Sofia said giddily. She grasped both his hands in gratitude. "I'll help even! And I can bring you coffee or something as a thank you! And I can even help you organize this messy office."

"Now, really, it's not that messy." he scoffed. She gave him a measured look and he rolled his eyes. "Alright, it's a bit disorganized."

"And I can help you with that! Not reading that book is going to save me hours of time. It's the least I can do!" she squeezed his hands, and he simultaneously became very aware of how warm her hands were, even through the thin latex, and how awkward he felt with his own hands limply in her grasp. He removed them gently and crossed his arms.

"Very well, then it's decided. After the next lecture stay after class, we'll start then." Sofia nodded along with his instructions, practically bouncing on her heels.

"It's a date!" she grinned. He tried his best to ignore her slightly inappropriate phrasing, and chalked it up to the excitement. She tugged up her sleeve and took a glance at the watch on her wrist. "Oh gosh, I didn't realize this conversation would take this much time- Sorry, Mr. Cedric I have to go get ready for riding practice now, but I'll see you then, for sure!" She turned on her heel and made for the door.

"We'll need a quiet space and my pocket recorder, so meet me up here in my office after lecture!" he called after her, as she made her way quickly towards the door and started to wave goodbye. "And Miss. Sofia?"

"Yes?" her head poked through the door of his office, as if ready to bolt once she was released by his final words.

"Knock next time, please."

All he heard was a "You got it!" along with a bubbly little giggle as her fair face dipped from his doorway and she disappeared down the hall.


	3. Coffee

**a/n: Thank you everyone for the reviews and feedback. I decided to keep adding to this idea I can't seem to get out of my head, and will probably update with a more drabbles rather than in an arc format as I try and flesh out some more of the University!au. Anyway, please enjoy this short chapter.**

To say Sofia was well rounded in her interests was an understatement. On top of taking advanced classes in her favorite subject at the university, she also partook horse riding lessons (for which she was up for a scholarship), read ravenously (mostly SAT Prep at the moment, but normally a mix of modern and literary canon), partook in her school's theatre group (especially the musicals!), and - in an effort to pool a bit of money for tuition to her dream school - held a part time job at a somewhat popular cafe near campus, "Wicked Brew".

Cedric had been agitated the first few times she had arrived late to their private lessons and used her job as an excuse, but once she had started bringing him cups of single-origin Ethiopian coffee his complaints had lessened to a mere grumble. Naturally, the coffee she brought was leagues ahead of the sour swill that had been sitting in a dirty pot for hours in the Science Faculty Room.

On a day like today, when Sofia was running more than a few minutes late for their lessons, it wasn't surprising to hear the familiar buzz of his mobile on his desk.

Sofia:

' _omw want anything? :-)'_

Although not his favorite form of communication Cedric was oddly deft at replying to texts:

' _Usual, please. You are 12 minutes late.'_

A brief pause, then another buzz.

Sofia:

' _Ur usual again? im going to try to do something new tho, k?'_

His slender fingers tik tik tik'd a reply:

' _Sofia, I do not like "new". 13 minutes late, quit dilly-dallying.'_

Their conversation then ceased until he heard a tentative knock on his office door. He stalked towards the door and opened it to see a sheepish Sofia looking up at him.

"Sofia, I do not like being made to wait nearly a half hour, especially when I am doing you a considerable favor in taking the time to..." he glanced down at the drink in her hands. "You cannot be serious."

Held daintily between her palms was a monstrosity of an ice blended beverage, a swirl of chocolate and caramel and piled high with a small mountain of whipped cream. An intricate criss-cross of drizzles lined the sides and small bits of what looked like crushed espresso beans were sprinkled over that. Nestled on top of the whole mess was what looked like a- oh Curie's Canaries!, yes it was- a cherry. It _literally_ had a _cherry on top_.

Cedric leaned against the frame of his office door with one arm and pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand. The petite girl took the opportunity to shuffle past him into his office, glancing worriedly towards him but maintaining her impish smile. His reaction was not altogether unpredicted by the well intentioned pupil.

"Sofia?" he said, finally looking over his fingers at her with a dark expression.

"Yes?" she shivered at the sound of her name, none of that 'Miss' he deliberately added to make their private meet-ups feel more like 'lessons'.

"Is the reason why you're so late is because you were making that?"

"Partly…" she admitted while shifting restlessly under his gaze. She lifted the plastic cup filled with what was undoubtedly mostly sugar towards him. "B-but I'm here now, and you wanted coffee so …"

"Oh, no no no." he scolded, shaking his head and crossing his arms over his chest defensively. "I asked for my usual coffee, not this- this-...this blended up candy bar!"

"But Mr. Cedric! Today was the first day they let me make a drink, usually I just work the register ...but at the end of my shift they offered to show me how to make any drink I wanted to and THIS one is really popular among the students here!" She ignored him as he rolled his tired eyes and continued. "I'm honestly so happy that you take the time to tutor me after all the other classes you teach, and I was just so excited that I could maybe give you something in return I guess I got a little carried away…"

He raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "A little, you say? This is clearly a 'venti' sized amount of your childish antics." His words had an edge but his tone was teasingly playful.

"Oh shush!" she furrowed her eyebrows at his silly joke, but couldn't help but betray the smile at the edges of her lips. The atmosphere was becoming more and more casual between them, even with distance of being teacher and student. "But really, just try it okay? I used that coffee blend you like as the base, and it's the first kinda 'fancy' coffee drink I got to make. Just one sip? My co-worker Lucinda is the best barista there, and she taught me so it can't be too bad!"

Cedric unfolded his arms and gave a defeated sigh, motioning for her to hand him the drink.

"Fine, one sip. And then you'll be satisfied?"

She nodded emphatically and pushed the cup into his hands, and during the transaction he felt her chilled fingertips brush his for a moment and he realized how they must have gotten cold from holding all the way across campus to deliver it to him.

He scrunched his nose as he brought the unknown drink closer to his face for proper inspection- and Sofia suppressed a giggle at how grave he looked- more like he was holding a vial of a dangerous solution rather than a liquid confectionary.

"I hate cold drinks…" he muttered bitterly.

"Aw, come on Mr. Cedric! You said you would try it at least!" Sofia whined.

"Fine, fine." he said before taking a sip. He looked down at Sofia who was watching him expectantly and he had to admit this was all rather odd. It was not unpleasant, having these sort of casual interactions with someone. Not unlike the sorts of things Greylock would try and pry him out from his textbooks to participate in - way back when they shared a room at boarding school. But Greylock didn't have such dangerously big blue eyes, nor such a pouty lower lip when things didn't go his way. In a lot of ways, little was a lot more dangerous to Cedric's usual hum-drum life than Grey had ever been.

"Well?" Sofia urged, when he failed to vocalize any of his thoughts.

"Obnoxiously sweet, almost the point of cloying." he sniffed and Sofia's shoulders fell a little at his verdict. He gave her a curious look before taking another cautious sip. "It's just like you. I actually think it was a perfectly _prophetic_ first drink for you to make, Sofia."

Sofia's eyes widened at the turn of his words and she couldn't help but beam a little more than usual. He gave her a lopsided smile and continued.

"Unfortunately, unlike you, I think it's a little too much sweet for me right now. I apologize Sofia, but I don't think I can finish this behemoth of a drink." even though the drink looked almost full, he felt like he'd had enough sugar to last a week.

He expected Sofia to be disappointed in him, an old man who couldn't handle this much sugar this late in the day, but she grinned like a cheshire cat and nabbed the drink in question back from him.

"That's alright Mr. Cedric, I'll finish it. To be honest, this is one of my favorite drinks, and I was curious if it would hold up to Lucinda's anyway!"

She was already happily sipping away at a speed only a teenager could maintain before Cedric could even react. She seemed unfazed by using the same straw as him, and Cedric felt, again, thoroughly out of his depth. He wanted to mention germs, he wanted to mention that she could have taken the domed lid off and drank it that way, he wanted to mention _something_ of impact to her but it was all a mess in his head once she plucked her mouth away from the straw and hummed in satisfaction.

"I didn't do too bad! Kinda like chemistry though, I could probably use a little more practice, right?" she winked and it now was her turn to clear the foreign tension of the moment with a bad joke and his to give a relieved smile. "Thanks for trying something new, Mr. Cedric. Even if you didn't like it too much..."

"It seems, as always, I don't have much of a choice when it comes to you, Miss. Sofia." he responded only half-jokingly before clearing his throat to regain an air of propriety. "Well then, that's enough talk about coffee- would you prepare the digital recorder for me, my apprentice."

"You got it!" she said, moving in his office with a sense of familiarity and locating the small device, checking to be sure there was enough room on it's memory to hold the hour long lecture her professor usually had prepared, while Cedric cleared his office whiteboard of the day's previous notes and scrawl - the taste of something sweet still lingering on the tip of his tongue.


	4. The Wicked Brew

**an: an excuse for a coffeeshop!au to be crudely smashed into my college!au? why, don't mind if i do.**

It was three whole days into Spring Break and Sofia couldn't wait for it to be over. The campus was deserted, its usual inhabitants were off to exotic beaches or flower-crown dotted music festivals. In other words, far away from 'The Wicked Brew' coffee house. Sofia had no classes and no riding lessons for the next two weeks and had decided the best thing to do with her free time would be to pick up some extra shifts at the coffee house and add to her potential college fund.

She had sent out a handful of college applications a couple of months ago and knew that it was still a couple weeks before she would be getting answers. Just the thought of acceptance letters (or lackthereof) made her stomach flutter in cruel anticipation. She, of course, had placed a lot of hope on getting into her 'dream school' and up until recently hadn't even entertained the thought of not getting accepted, having to go to some fall back school she felt no passion for, of not being able to see-

"Whatcha thinking 'bout, Sof? That old guy you got the hots for?"

Lucinda's voice interrupted her thoughts and she startled, looking up at the older girl who was staring at her with twinkling green eyes, her signature lock of hair wrapped in colored cord and adorned with delicate silver beads. She wore a black buttoned henley and a dark green apron, sleeves rolled up revealing a trail of wiccan-inspired tattoos along her forearm.

"N-no!" Sofia's face flushed when she saw her friend's foxish grin widen at her surprise "I mean, he's not old! And I wasn't thinking about him, specifically..."

"But you do have the hots for him?" Lucinda clarified, teasingly. Sofia huffed and went back to work stacking cappuccino cups neatly for a display. She knew she shouldn't have told Lucinda about her private lessons with Professor Cedric, but after taking so many extra cups of unsweetened coffees after work with her, it had become painfully obvious she wasn't consuming all that caffeine herself. Lucinda, in her usual salacious way, had managed to misconstrue her and Cedric's relationship into something much more than it was in reality and taken to offering her suggestive advice that had recently made it difficult to concentrate during her lessons; from wearing knee-socks that are his favorite color, to tracing the tip of her pen along her lip when she knew he was looking, to more scandalous suggestions that made Sofia's pulse quicken.

Sofia of course never _did_ any of these things, and learned after a few weeks that there was no end to her friend's dirty imagination. It was just easier to just ignore her… as much as she could. This humble intention had become a whole lot harder when she had taken full shifts every day for the next two weeks.

Sofia redoubled her efforts to focus on her work and Lucinda seemed to lose interest in teasing her and returned to her post at the register greeting the handful of customers that had trickled in that day. It had been slow, and somewhat boring, but Lucinda's mom, Marla, had thought that Sofia could help update some displays and coffee shop sign lettering. Although Lucinda was a wiz at making drinks, her work ethic left a lot of be desired in the eyes of her mother. From what Sofia had gleaned from the couple months of her working there was that while Marla wanted to portray the air of an upscale coffee house - all atmosphere and exotic bean selections, while Lucinda wanted to take the route of a more laid-back cafe that was known for making a 'damn good cup of coffee'. Although her mother was technically the main owner of the store, Lucinda was often left in charge of The Brew as manager and so it leaned more towards her casual sensibilities.

Sofia was almost done with stacking the small white saucers they served pastries on when her focus was shattered by a she familiar voice ordering an espresso in a bored tone and unmistakable accent.

"Professor Cedric?" Sofia gasped, peeking up suddenly from below the counter where she was doing her work. If it wasn't for his tell-tale grey bangs, she didn't think she would have recognized him outside his office! He had fargoed his usual coat, vest, and tie for just a crisp dress shirt, tucked into dark pants.

" _Oh man, is this the guy_?" Lucinda mouthed, hiding her lips behind a cupped palm but pointing to him with her other hand in a way that was not at all subtle.

Sofia rushed up to the counter and nearly pushed Lucinda out of the way at the register, before the mischievous brunette could take advantage of the situation.

"Miss Sofia," Cedric replied smoothly, nodding to her and acting as if he hadn't noticed their odd behavior. "I trust you're enjoying the break?"

"Yes! I am!" she replied a little too quickly "What are you doing here?"

He arched an eyebrow. "Well, I was hoping to get an espresso."

Sofia's face bloomed pink in embarrassment. Of course that was why he was here...

"Lucinda! An espresso!" she called suddenly at Lucinda, surprising herself before adding: "Please."

Lucinda rolled her eyes and smirked. "As you wish, 'boss'." turning towards the machine and preparing the grounds.

"We'll, um, bring it to you in just a second." Sofia said, turning back to Cedric. He smiled at her knowingly. "Feel free to take a seat anywhere."

"I don't believe I've paid yet, Miss Sofia." he chuckled lightly, before offering her his credit card. Sofia's embarrassed blush deepened as she punched in the transaction and avoided eye contact with him. Why couldn't she think clearly right now? The surprise of seeing her mentor all of a sudden and the added anxiety of Lucinda being there was a potent cocktail of distraction for her. Cedric smiled as she handed back his card, trying to break the spell of awkwardness. "Thankfully, you managed to pay a little more attention to detail during your mid-term."

Sofia perked up. Her chemistry test! Finally, a subject she was comfortable with!

"You graded my test? Already?" she paused and gave him a puppyish look "and ... I didn't do too badly?"

"You did wonderfully, my dear, top 5% of the class," but his smile soon soured as he tapped a finger to the leather portfolio tucked under his arm. "Unfortunately, not everyone in class did as well as you and so I'm stuck grading these for the duration of the break."

Sofia felt a pang of sympathy for the Professor, now noting that the circles beneath his eyes appeared even darker usual. He must have been spending the last couple of days reading the same essay answers subtly reworded over and over again until late into the night. No wonder he came into to the coffee shop! She tried to think of something she could do for him.

"In that case, I'll tell Lucinda to add another shot to that espresso." she winked at him, her blue eyes sparkling "On the house of course!"

Cedric blinked at her for a moment, a bit surprised at her gesture, but chalked it up to her usual tenacity for doing good work.

"Much appreciated, I'll, ah, be sitting over there." he nodded towards a secluded corner with a small table and comfortable looking padded chair. "Doing the, uh, grading."

"Wow. You two _sure are smooth_." muttered Lucinda sarcastically, and Sofia shot her a stern look. Thankfully, Cedric didn't seem to hear as he made himself comfortable in the chair. Lucinda smirked at her friend's obvious distress at this situation.

"Luci, don't you dare do anything weird!" Sofia whispered, so that no one in the coffee shop could hear. Lucinda covered her mouth in mock surprise.

"Who me? I would never!" her eyes narrowed mischievously. "Of course, if you change your mind, I can draw something dirty in his espresso foam for you. You know, as a _suggestion_."

"That won't be necessary, Luce!" Sofia hissed, exasperated and not doubting for a moment she would do it. She snatched the unmolested drink away before Lucinda could object and began walking towards the Cedric's table.

"Here's your drink, Professor!" She set the drink down with a clink on the only patch of table not occupied by papers. She folded her arms politely behind her back. "Anything else I can get for you?"

"No, thank you, this is perfect." he flickered his eyes up at her for a moment before squinting back down at his papers. He already seemed annoyed after this short time, staring at the paper in his hand like he would much rather tear it to shreds then correct some rich brat's illegible chemical formulas. Sofia nodded, trying to hide any inkling that she may be disappointed and returned to behind the counter leaving Cedric to his stormy grading.


	5. Wicked Brew Bonus - Cedric's POV

**an: had a few more things to add to that last chapter, so here is a short chapter to add to it. a bit choppy, but i wanted to show that Cedric can be deeply effected by Sofia's actions like a nervous dork.**

* * *

It wasn't her, it was the coffee.

Hadn't he suffered enough from the grimey old machine in the shared lounge? And wouldn't leaving his office be a good change of pace? And, plus, she probably wasn't even there. She certainly hadn't send him any of her usual emoji-laden texts as of late, nor stopped by his office. Not that they had any set plans for tutoring sessions during the short break.

After several months of them following a casual routine he was distraught to realize there was a sort of rift left in his time where he hadn't even noticed that he gone out of his way to space for her. When he finally placed his finger on it, he was filled with petty resentment that would be more appropriate for a young man a fraction of his age. He couldn't help but feel a like a foolishly loyal dog, waiting for it's owner to show up after they had left them to live their own separate life during the day - there was no mistaking she had utterly trained him with praise and coffee.

The first few days of the university's recess he had found himself glancing at the clock around the time she usually appeared, a steaming paper cup in hand with 'Prof. Cerdric' scrawled on it, an innocent heart dotting the 'i'. He chided himself for feeling any sort of reaction to her absence: she was more than a decade younger than him, a capricous teenager that probably had many friends that wanted to spend time with her now that her schedule opened up. And wasn't she always mentioning her riding lessons? With so many extra curriculars she had he'd assumed she was off traveling or enjoying the fine weather like his other students.

'She's not at all like other students,' he caught himself thinking, and swiftly chided himself, burying the thought down low inside him.

Yes, it wasn't her, it was the coffee. That was Cedric Goodwin's mantra that he kept telling himself as he made the short stroll towards the coffee shop.

He had managed to center his thoughts on the utility of the caffeine, of being in a new space to get his work done, of anything but her - to the point that when she had poked her head up from under the counter like a weasel he was almost pleasantly surprised. There she was working hard - not three blocks away from the Science Department - practically under his nose. His childishly repetitive thoughts of ' _Why Hasn't She Texted Me_ ' melted away. In fact, she seemed a bit nervous to see him as well and his own anxieties faded as he watched her stumble over her words as she took his order. Did he really cause this much of a reaction? He supposed he would have been a bit caught off guard if a teacher had shown up at his part time job when he was a whelp. Perhaps he should throw her a lifeline, maybe mention the tests he was grading?

"Thankfully, you managed to pay a little more attention to detail on your mid-term." tempering his teasing tone with a kind smile.

She brightened up immediately, and she regained that soothing 'Sofia' aura he had grown so fond of - the real thing he had missed these last few days.

"Unfortunately, not everyone in class did as well as you." he tapped a finger on his attaché. "So I'm stuck grading these for the duration of the break."

She had furrowed her brow and blinked at him, and he could almost hear the fast little gears in her head whipping up some sort of something. He recognized the expression as what she did before she had a clever little breakthrough during their lessons and he just for a moment let himself admit that he had grown quite fond of that look as well.

'I'm glad I came.' he thought absently, relishing in the ease of their rapport before something very uneasy and very unexpected happened to him that shattered that atmosphere for the rest of the day:

As she offered him an extra shot, her mouth turned up into a kittenish simper, and she winked at him with such unintended feminine allure he blinked, suddenly mistrusting his own eyes. _Did she- ?_ No, no, no, she couldn't have possibly meant anything by that she is just trying to be nice to you, you bloody idiot!

He swallowed, and tried to gain back the thread of thought that she had suddenly snipped.

"I'll, ah, be sitting over there." he said, hyper aware of of how unsteady he suddenly sounded. He retreated to a table and immediately poured himself into his work, fanning a stack of papers onto the table and trying to no avail to stop his reeling mind from replaying that viberant flash of womanly charm he had never dreamed existed in his ever-so-innocent pupil over and over...

His brain was riddled with unsure thoughts that he kept stamping down with his students' trite chemistry answers. When he heard her set down his drink, he only let himself look up for a fraction of a moment before immediately gluing his eyes back to the paper in his hand fearing she may resaturate his thoughts if he stared too long.

"Anything else I can get for you?" her voice was sweet and cheery. She was just 'Miss Sofia' again, he knew, but he didn't dare tempt his treacherous imagination and rejected her offer in clipped tone. She turned away and he could sense she wasn't pleased with his sudden change in attitude, but it wasn't as if he could just up and say: " _Oh, I'm sorry Miss. Sofia if I'm a little standoffish today, but before I came in here I hadn't realized what a total and absolute degenerate I could be! Don't mind me, as I sit here and think about the blue in your eyes! By the way, thanks for the extra shot, but my heart rate is already dangerously_ _arrhythmic_ _right now!_ "

He worked like he had blinders on for the better part of an hour, always with a grain of dread in the back of his mind that he wouldn't be able to get her image out of his head.


	6. Acceptance

**an: Cedfia 123 made me do it.**

* * *

Cedric sat in his office chair, finishing up the last grading of midterms he needed so he could go home for the remainder of the week and enjoy what little was left of the break. It had been 3 dragging days since he had visited the coffee shop and had made the conscious decision to brew coffee at home from then on. In that time Sofia had sent him three enthusiastic texts that seemed to have been spurred on by his visit:

' _How's the grading going? Hope not too badly!_ '

' _Are you going to be coming in again today? If so I can try and save you a good seat. LMK and I'll get your drink ready too. Luci taught me how to make an espresso yesterday!_ '

' _It's pretty slow here, want me to bring you anything?_ '

To which he made clipped replies that gently turned down any offer for her that would cause him to be in more contact with her than necessary. The striking memory of their last interaction had dulled to a faint feeling of unease at the bottom of his stomach, but he didn't want to tempt fate. With his foul luck, if he tried to keep up with her innocent playfulness, another student - or worse, faculty member - would catch sight of it out of context and it would escalate into a scandal that his father would use against him. His father was always looking for a reason for him to work in a 'less challenging' position. He set down his pen to rub his temples. He could hear his old man lecturing him now...

"Perhaps Dunwitty City College would be more your pace, Cedric, m'boy. Maintaining a reputation is a lot less of an issue there, you know. There are no bitter students to point fingers and shout 'favoritism'!"

He was sure that it wasn't that Sofia had any intentions of seriously pursuing him, but rather the last few months in the university environment had made her bolder, and more mature. It was just his 'bad luck' again, that he had ended up noticing those subtle changes and reacting like a boy half his own age. To protect his position (and hers as well) it was his responsibility to keep an appropriate distance from her.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a nearby coffee shop that was about to close for the evening, Sofia checked her phone for the twentieth time that day. Still no reply…

"Sofia," Lucinda's voice cut through her hazy thoughts. Sofia looked up and saw her dark haired 'manager' (Lucinda always insisted on using the quotes) leaning on the handle of a broom, tapping her foot impatiently. "Look, I know I'm usually the one slacking off and the last one that can qualified to say 'hurry up', but could you hurry up? I have a show to get to and the doors open in, like, 20 minutes."

"Sorry, I'll get on it." Sofia gave her workmate a meek smile. She really wasn't acting like her usual self lately, and her mind meandered back to the weak dribble of texts she had gotten, half-heartedly wiping down the wooden tables and stacking chairs. Although her favorite Professor wasn't the most eager texter, usually the offer of a free coffee perked his interest enough to merit a response, but she had still been given a simple 'No Thanks'. She had quickly replied, taking it in stride.

'Okay, maybe another time? :^)'

That had been a handful of hours ago, and no response. She felt incredibly silly, looking at the same texts they shared that week over and over, looking for any clue to why he all of a sudden stopped their usual correspondence. True, she hadn't texted him for a bit when she was working a lot, and it was also true he was busy grading papers, but there was some tension that lingered after his last visit that made her feel like she did something wrong.

After he had left that day, Sofia asked Lucinda if anything seemed off.

"Nope," Lucinda held up the generous tip he had left under his saucer, and winked good naturedly "Seems like he liked what he came looking for here, eh?"

Over the next two days Sofia still couldn't shake the feeling and had vaguely asked Ruby and Jade for advice.

"A guy not texting you back isn't a big deal." Jade had said, shrugging. "Not once, at least. Guys forget a lot."

"Yeah, it's only if he blows you off three times that he _really_ isn't into you." Ruby had chimed in, nodding. "I read it in an article somewhere..."

Sofia had blushed, too embarrassed to mention that the 'guy' was actually her much older and much more complicated professor at the University, not some guy that looked like one of the celebrity teens in the endless piles of magazines Ruby collected...

As she grabbed her jacket and waited for Lucinda to lock up, it dawned on her that perhaps it was their difference in age itself that was uncomfortable for him. The problem could be she wasn't mature enough, or that he was self-conscious to be seen in public talking to some teenager that got poor advice from magazines. Her stomach tightened at the thought. Her age wasn't something she could change.

Lucinda and her parted ways for the night, and Sofia walked the long way to her bike parked at one of the many racks at the school. She had been deliberate to choose one that would make her walk past the Science Building, a decision that made her feel even more immature to think about. She looked up and counted the windows until she found Professor Cedric's and saw the telltale glow of jaundiced light peeking through the blinds. He was still working, just a couple flights of stairs up, but he felt even more distant then when she was in the coffee shop a few hours ago.

Sofia had read (and for the most part disliked) 'The Great Gatsby' when she was a sophomore at Dunwitty almost three years ago. The symbolism of the green light that Jay had reached out towards - not towards the person that was across the water but the _idea of that person_ \- was iconic, but she had felt the whole scene just showed that his idealistic nature was wholly selfish, and was just another guy who really loved stewing in his own melodrama. She hadn't once sympathized with him until this very moment, when she was staring up at a light that didn't really represent the person behind it either, but the idea that the person felt nearly unreachable to her. She tried to shake the thoughts out of her head as she mounted her bike and kicked off into the street.

* * *

Returning to classes later the next week had not helped return things to normal, as she had originally hoped. Instead it had only become more apparent that he was avoiding her, as she lingered after class to try and catch him in a conversation about the lecture but he briskly exited the lecture hall without as much as a 'goodbye'.

Texts trying to re-establish their usual tutoring schedule was met with mechanical responses and flimsy excuses. The one time she ventured to try and bring him a coffee to the office, during their usual time, he was not there.

Sofia felt a mix of lonesomeness and hurt. She had been thrilled that one of the professors at her dream school had felt like a mentor, even a friend at times, but the sting that came with the fact that she was just so easily brushed off was almost enough to make her want to skip classes. Almost.

She had learned to not text him, to not get her hopes up. She still enjoyed his lessons, and felt a little thrill when his eyes swept over where she sat, and the successive numbing ache when he quickly averted his gaze.

He called on her when she had an answer to a quesion he posed, but only when no one else in class was raising their hand.

Lucinda eventually learned to stop asking if she wanted an extra coffee after a shift, lest she catch a grey look in Sofia's eyes as she shook her head 'no'.

This went on for almost a month after spring break, until one night Sofia returned home late after an evening shift. Her mom had left a note attached to the fridge with a cheerful magnet that she was behind on orders at the store, and wouldn't be home till even later that night, probably when Sofia was already in bed. Sofia felt a wash of guilt and dreamed of the day her mother wouldn't have to work so hard, cleaning and repairing scuffed old businessmen's shoes in order to support the two of them, but it seemed like that day was still far off. Sofia flicked through the pile of mail, sorting out the bills that would need to be paid first and ones that maybe they could put on credit, when her fingers stilled at a pretty cream colored envelope with the unmistakable image of the University seal on it - addressed to her. Her breath hitched and she opened a close by drawer filled with pens and knick-nacks and pulled out a letter opener with shaky hands, slipping it into the thick cardstock and gingerly extracting the letter within.

Cedric was awoken by the annoying default ringtone of his phone. He grumbled, glancing at the glowing digits of his alarm clock next to the bed. 2:00 am? Not even his mother would resort to calling him this late into the night, to ask him some idiotic question about 'why the computer was doing such-and-such' or if he was eating well enough. He grabbed the unused pillow next to his own and pulled it over his head. It didn't smother the noise too well, and he clenched his teeth in groggy annoyance until the chimes ended and his shoulders finally relaxed.

Until it started ringing again. And again.

Angrily, he shot up in bed. The buttons on his grey nightshirt rose and fell with his angry breaths, and he snatched up his phone from the nightstand with the goal of shutting it off, or perhaps throwing it against the wall if he wasn't patient enough, but froze when he saw the name:

" **SOFIA is calling...** "

On instinct, his thumb hovered over the red 'DECLINE' button but stopped when he saw the myriad of alerts that were also on the screen.

" **10 Text Messages from SOFIA** "

" **4 Missed Calls from SOFIA** "

He furrowed a brow at the previews of the texts, all the messages vague but pleading " _Please pick up!_ "

His eyes wide with worry like he was about to try and disarm a bomb. After a month of mostly radio silence, and a couple weeks of difficult but successful dodging, Sofia had seemed content to cease all communication with him. But this many texts and calls, all within the span of 5 minutes? In the middle of the night? What if she was in some kind of trouble? Or hurt? Or in the hospital? But why would she call _him,_ of all people? Why was he even hesitating to question all this? A panic gripped him as he slid the little green button and accepted the call.

"Sofia, are you alri-"

He was cut off by heavy, breathing and a sob. Oh, Bunsen's burners, it must be worse than he thought!

"Sofia, answer me!" he barked into the phone and he heard her gasp.

"Professor," she replied breathlessly "you picked up…"

"Yes, I did, girl, now tell me, what on Earth is going on!"

Her end went quiet, and he could hear her try and steady her breathing, hiccuping a bit.

"I got… I got into the University! I'm starting this Fall, and I got into the Chemistry Department!" she announced finally, followed by another ragged sob. "I'm sorry it's so late, but no one else is here and I just had to tell someone and… Oh, my goodness I'm blubbering. I probably sound awful..."

The muscles he hadn't realized he'd tightened suddenly went limp with relief and he fell back on his mattress, the phone loosely gripped in his hand as a maelstrom of emotions spun in his head making him dizzy. But one was trumpeting louder than all the others: Oh, thank heavens she's alright!

"Professor?" she said, after he hadn't said anything.

"Sorry, Miss. Sofia it's...it's just very late, that's all. I'm still a bit out of sorts." he paused, then added. "Congratulations, my dear."

"Thank you! I'm just… so, so happy, this is all I've wanted after all these months with your class, I can hardly process it."

He scoffed. "Was there really any doubt that you wouldn't?"

"Yes!" she admitted miserably. He rolled his eyes in the dark, imagining the expression she must be wearing.

"Well, there was on my end," he said, sighing and regaining his usual composure. "Now, with that being said, it's quite late Miss. Sofia and I have a class to teach in the morning so-"

"Professor?" she called to him and he halted his thought. Damn her, how did she always do that to him?

"Just one last thing… I promise," she murmured, the softness of her voice filling him with a dread.

He didn't answer, but he didn't hang up, a pang of fear tingling his spine. Was she going to confront him about the last month? About him keeping her at more than arms length? He didn't think he could handle that...

"The letter said I was admitted directly into the sciences department early due to a 'recommendation of esteemed faculty'..." she was talking quietly and he strained to hear her. "It was you, wasn't it, Professor?"

He was quiet, his shoulders tensing up again at the reminder. He had almost forgotten, when President Roland had made a visit to his office a days back, knocking without waiting for a reply before bursting in, as per usual with him. He asked how 'that girl from Dunwitty Prep was getting along' and although Cedric hadn't exactly gushed about her, he couldn't dismiss her either. He instead was honest and objective: she was a hard worker, she had taken initiative to catch up on the course load and had previously even been helping him, in minor ways, with his work.

Roland had nodded along, "Is that so? Well, it's settled then…I'll have Baileywick get the paperwork in order" and had walked away without fully explaining himself (another habit that was usual for him). Cedric had the sinking feeling that he had just tipped the scales in Sofia's favor for admission into the university. Which would mean that he would be seeing more of her. At least four years more of her.

A cowardly voice deep inside him urged him to sprint down the hall, to catch up with the enthusiastic University President and make up some half-baked excuse to try and smother her chances. Perhaps bring up her initial struggles with the class, or that she even may be better suited for another department - her talents were so varied, you see! But he steeled himself and continued his work, letting the opportunity for sabotage pass like a wave.

Because as easy as he could make his life without her, he couldn't bear the thought of ruining her dreams after she tried so hard. The thought of her alluring eyes was stamped out by the image of the first time she entered his lab, nervous and unsure and how much she had grown since then, not physically, but emotionally. She deserved to be admitted more than he even had, his father having opened the doors for him long ago to this very same institution.

He snapped back to the present, realizing he needed to think of a nice, safe answer.

"An 'Esteemed faculty' you say? No, I can't say that anyone there would describe me like that," he replied half-joking. He'd said it to make her laugh, expecting that dainty giggle of hers, the same one she made when he told her terrible chemistry puns he thought up, to float through the phone's speaker.

"I would." she replied simply. Her voice was so clear and serious that Cedric was a bit stunned. When he didn't answer, she went on. "Thank you, Professor. Not just for the recommendation, but for everything. The classes, the lectures, the extra help, the encouragement... It's the most anyone has ever done for me, aside from my mom." he could feel the walls he had architected to keep her out start crumbling under her sincerity. She didn't stop. "I know your time was a lot to give away, and if I overstepped my boundaries and asked too much from you, I'm sorry."

If Cedric was a smart man he would have hung up then and there. But although Cedric held two degrees in Chemistry, with a third on the way, and although he own an impressive library of books housed in large shelves lining his office that he could proudly said he'd read every one, Cedric Goodwin was not smart in this way and instead he kept listening, as a beautiful young woman began to start to sniffle on the other end of the phone.

"I just… I look up to you so much, I ended up being selfish and not taking how it would effect you into account..."

"Sofia, please." his heart was a wreck, and he didn't think he could take much more of this. "You've done nothing wrong. I know I've been... distant these last few weeks but that's because…because..." he groped for an excuse and only found falsehoods. There was no fragile way to do this, he had to get it over with, like plunging into a brisk pool in autumn.

"Because I'm an idiot!" he finally blurted, and once that was out everything started tumbling out. All his over-analyzed thoughts from the past month:

"To be honest, there are not a lot of people I care to associate with in my free time, and the handful of people I do spend time with are not at all like you. Your presence is an entirely new element in my life that I find... perplexing, but not at all unpleasant." he pinched the bridge of his nose, and screwed his eyes shut, as if to wring out the very last words in his mind. "But Sofia you are young, and bright, and friendly, and because of that you are going to be presented with a slew of new opportunities at this university and associating with me can only lead to rumors of nepotism that will harm your career here. So please, just try and distance yourself from me... for your own sake."

"Is that all?" Sofia asked, when he had finished.

"What do you mean, 'is that all'!?" he gaped, incredulous. "This is a very small school Sofia, and rumors spread quickly, and are taken seriously. Once the fire catches, the damage is done."

"It seems to me like I just have to choose between the opinions of petty people and spending time with someone who believed in me since the beginning. That isn't a hard choice," she said with all the resolution of a stubborn teenager. "I'd choose you. Every time."

"You don't know what you're saying," Cedric muttered, trying to ignore the heat rising to his face in embarrassment at her words.

"Well, it's my reputation to do with what I want. If you want to argue about it some more, we can do it tomorrow. After your class. When I bring us coffee and cake from the cafe to celebrate my getting accepted." she said firmly, and Cedric knew better than to protest with a woman so dead-set on a goal, after years of growing up with his mother and older sister.

"Fine, I'm too tired to fight you now, anyway. Its nearly 3 am. Goodnight, Sofia." he grumbled.

"See you tomorrow, then" she said, and he could practically hear the triumphant smile in her voice.

"Hnn." he grunted, before hanging up and tossing his phone back onto the nightstand. He turned on his stomach and buried his face in his pillow and let out a long, muffled groan.

This was it, this is the moment he would look back on as the point of 'no return', where he decided to throw away his career, all for coffee and cake and a pair of sky blue eyes filled with far too much admiration for him.


	7. Dorm Drabbles

**an: hey guys, thanks for all the reviews, they mean the world to me! i've got some more full-length stories cookin' in the drafts folder but i couldn't really go on without posting some of these drabbles about Sofia's move in day.**

* * *

She was supposed to pick up the keys to her dorm somewhere near 'Annex A', which she thought she was close to but there was just so many people swarming everywhere she couldn't see. She looked down again at the campus map, holding it up in front of her face and turning it in hopes that would help. Instead, it just distracted her as she bumped the nose of her cart - fairly hard - into someone who yelped and dropped the box they'd been carrying.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry." Sofia said, immediately kneeling down as the young man held his shin and bit back more swears. She began piling the sprawled out contents back into the container, when her hand hovered over what looked like threadbare slippers.

" _Don't touch those!_ " she heard him hiss suddenly and she flinched at the anger in his words. She looked up and saw him, really saw him, for the first time. He was about her age, maybe a bit older, with neat dark hair and a mouth and nose that paired well together. He was dressed well too, with khaki slacks and a sweater tied poshly around his shoulders and Sofia found herself thinking that he'd have looked quite handsome if only he wasn't glaring at her like he wanted to set her on fire.

"S-sorry." she said, holding up her hand and he snatched the shoes away.

"Hugo~o! I got our keys, bro!" a boisterous voice from beyond the immediate crowd of people called out in their direction, and the angry young man looked up towards it, and muttered a final 'goddammit' before scooping up his box. He straightened himself up and sent Sofia one last venomous look before shoving his way into the sea of people and disappearing.

"Well, this is off to a wonderful start," Sofia muttered to no one in particular, then realized "Wait, did they say 'keys'?"

* * *

A kind looking older man with swept back silver hair and pince-nez glasses with the name 'Baileywick' written neatly on his nameplate had handed her a ring of silver keys attached to an electronic key fob. He noted on the complex map that her dorm was #4 on the top-most floor of the main dorms. Upon hearing this, a blonde haired girl that had been scrolling through her phone snapped her head up and marched to the front of the line.

"Wait, I'm _sharing_ a room?" she said, appearing exasperated.

Baileywick didn't look up from his clipboard as he ticked off another item on his lengthy itinerary.

"Yes, Miss. Amber. We informed you of this many months ago." he replied dryly, not surprised at all at this strange outburst, nor bothered that this young woman had bypassed about five fuming parents and students that had been in line before her.

"Yes, but I thought it was, like," she waved her free hand around as if searching for a word in the air. "some sort of joke or something!"

"I'm afraid not. Here are your keys." Baileywick held up a pair of keys identical to the ones Sofia had been given. Amber took it, like she was holding a dirty sock.

She was pouting, and Sofia's stomach tightened into a knot when she turned to look at her in critical assessment Sofia. The blonde haired girl looked her over from head to toe with narrowed, honey-colored eyes. Sofia couldn't help but notice that this girl had the longest, prettiest eyelashes she'd ever seen. Noticing this only made her more nervous.

"H-hey, roomie." Sofia offered, trying to read the other girl's face. Amber rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that," she said, returning her gaze to her phone and turning on her heel. Sofia watched her walk away, frozen with embarrassment, until the girl turned back and arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow at her standing there. "Well, are you coming or what?"

Sofia perked up, and grabbed her handcart, swerving to avoid hitting anyone else as she followed her new roommate towards the dorms across campus.

* * *

Sofia followed behind Amber who, as far as Sofia had seen, not looked up once from her phone. She seemed older, maybe by a year or two, and had a nonchalance in her way of walking that made it seem she knew the layout of the campus like the back of her hand.

As they carved their way through the clusters of people around them, Sofia couldn't help but gawk at the campus, that suddenly seemed more big now that she was officially going there. She was starting to gain her bearings when realized with a thrill that they would be passing the Science Building soon. As they approached, she spotted Cedric wearing a slightly-more-formal-than-usual blue suit and what looked like a similar name tag as Baileywick. He looked to be giving an older couple directions, motioning to the unfolded map they were holding out.

Without thinking, Sofia waved to him. He must have noticed, for he looked up gave her a wry smile as if to say 'can you believe what they have me do?', before quickly noticing Amber and both his smile and gaze dropped away from them.

"You know him?" Amber, was looking up now but still with her same bored expression "That Chem teacher?"

"Yeah, he's my fr-" Sofia stopped herself. Cedric seemed on edge when he saw Amber with her and perhaps he was embarrassed. She didn't want him disappearing on her again, so she put it more delicately, for his sake. "He was my tutor. He recommended me to go here, actually."

"Ah, a teacher's recommendation. That's why we're sharing the President's suite." Amber said, as if a puzzle piece had just been put in place.

"President's suite?" Sofia parroted, confused.

"Well, it's not really _called that_ officially, but everyone knows that the top floor of the dorms has extra large rooms, usually reserved for hand selected 'gifted' students'," Amber gave a knowing smile. "...or people who know someone high up in admissions. Last year I had a whole suite to myself. I had soooo much closet space!" She gave a wistful sigh and Sofia frowned.

"S-sorry," she offered, realizing that was why she had been so disappointed at the news they would be sharing a room. Surprisingly, it wasn't her self-centered way of thinking that Sofia marveled at, but the fact that this girl had enough clothes to fill an _entire other room._ Was everyone at this school rich and good looking? And impeccably dressed? It seemed so more by the minute.

Amber shook her head at Sofia's apology, and smiled sweetly at her.

"Oh no, it's fine." her smile curled up coyly and Sofia swore she saw her golden eyes glitter for a moment, her gaze sliding over Sofia's chest and hips too leisurely for Sofia not to notice. "I'm sure I'll find a good use for you..."

In a few weeks time, when Amber has her standing stock still in the center of their shared area, the older blonde is wrapping cloth measuring tape around Sofia's waist - scribbling down the measurement with a pencil that she'd tuck safely behind her ear before moving onto the next part of Sofia's anatomy - that's when Sofia would finally realize what that stare she had given her the first day they met had meant.

But for now, Sofia just gulped.

* * *

Sofia parked her cart by their door, wiping her brow with the back of her sleeve. Amber's belongings were already furnishing most of the space, but Sofia was too tired to question it.

"Gosh, whoever thought it was a good idea to put 'check-in' on the other side of campus from the dorms is an idiot..." she muttered, frustrated with the day. She looked at Amber, who seemed to be easily annoyed by everything, for a confirmation.

"You mean, President Roland Kingsly, _my father_?" Amber said slowly, lifting a brow again, utterly bemused at Sofia's face upon hearing those words.

"Your fa-…so you're…" Sofia took a seat on a very chic looking chair (probably Amber's) and slumped. For what seemed like the millionth time today she tried to apologize. "I'm so sorry, Amber, I hadn't-"

Amber shrugged, already distracted again by her phone's screen. "No. He is an idiot. I can't believe Baileywick let him be in charge of that. He's usually so uptight about details…"

Sofia was too tired to reply, feeling like everywhere around her was some kind of minefield filled with mistakes just waiting to be made today. Could it get any worse?

Yes, probably.

* * *

 **an: if any of you guys are interested in more drabbles about Sofia's college life or the lite Hugfia moments i've thought out for this AU, let me know! Honestly, i love talking about this au and it's still incredibly malleable and i would love some input!**


	8. Spectacles

**an: shout out and thank you to Cedfia123 for this idea and everyone (especially TheOliviaOcti!) for all the encouragement! I love hearing everyone's thoughts on this AU, it feels like such a shapeless thing when I think about it by my lonesome~**

* * *

Sofia gazed up through her lashes towards the Professor's office window - the only one lit against the entire face of the building. She clenched the warm cup of coffee more assuredly in her hands as she picked up her pace and walked towards the entrance.

They had gotten into a pleasant kind of routine now that she was on the campus as an official student. She was starting to handle most of the chemistry material from the class on her own now, and they spent less of their time together discussing the subtleties of chemistry homework and more time sipping beverages or chatting about things happening about campus. Even if it seemed Cedric was in a foul mood from a bad slip-up during one of his lessons Sofia always felt welcome (no matter how many grumpy remarks he gave her) to just quietly peruse through his small private library and listen to him complain.

As Sofia made her way up towards the office she passed a few late-night classes still in session, but noted that the hallways were mostly deserted.

'The professor must spend the most time out of the entire department after hours,' she thought to herself as she reached his door. 'He really is dedicated…'

She knocked quickly, before opening the door without waiting for a response, as usual.

"Pro-" she said before she registered the scene before her and quickly snapped her mouth shut to suppress any giggles.

Although his desk lamp was still on, Professor Cedric Goodwin was sound asleep at his desk, a pair of silver glasses slightly askew on his nose and a pen still lightly grasped between his long fingers. His jacket was thrown over the back of his chair and he was slumped forward with one side of his face planted into a disorganized stack of papers.

His expression was relaxed and without any of the lines it carried when he was annoyed during the day. Sofia, who was ever the scientist - was drawn forward to examine this new expression she'd never seen on him before and with careful, quiet steps crossed the room towards him. She leaned down so mere inches from his face, examining him with an enchanted curiosity. Those glasses - she'd never encountered them before in all this time knowing him. She'd witnessed him grade papers before and he'd never worn them. Before she knew what she was doing, she had already placed the cup of coffee aside and both her hands were reaching out to either side of his face until her fingertips brushed against the cool metal frames…

Before she can possibly react, Cedric's arm moved quick as if to swat away a bug, but instead it grabbed her wrist firmly and Sofia startled and pulled back immediately. Oh no, she'd been caught! She watched him lift his head, expecting him to be fuming and ready to yell, but she was met with his groggy face looking more confused than ever.

"Sofia?" he mumbled, still half asleep still. Sofia did her best to suppress a giggle, because his glasses were trying to escape down one side of his face and his mismatched bangs were pointing in odd directions. But the clincher was that the poor student's report he had fallen asleep while grading was now plastered against his cheek - likely with the help of some drool. He noticed with a mildly embarrassed expression that he'd grabbed onto her wrist and lets go - before going on to peel the offending paper from his cheek and straightening his glasses to squint at it.

"'Axel Garrick'? No wonder I fell asleep…" he muttered before adding the paper to one of the many messy piles on his desk. "He's the type of student I hate - always taking 'word minimums' as hard rules rather than guidelines. He goes on and on in circles with empty words when he doesn't know in the slightest what he's talking about."

He then (much to Sofia's disappointment) removed his glasses and stowed them away in a breast pocket before going on.

"Is there anything else out of place, Miss Sofia?"

"Your hair," Sofia admitted. He looked up and could see the beginning of the mess at the edge of his vision, and scowled before combing his fingers through his hair a few times to smooth out the mess. He knew that it looked nothing like his usual _preferred_ hairstyle but without a proper comb and mirror this would have to do.

"Better?" he asked, giving her a look again that made her straighten. Sofia gulped, and simply nodded, fearing her voice would betray her. Because 'Yes, He Looked Better', she would even venture to say even better than his usual grooming afforded him. He looked somewhat roguish with his bangs pushed back and his eyes half lidded and his cheekbones showing nicely in the glow of his desk lamp.

He quirked an eyebrow at her odd staring, and she felt her heart quicken as she tried desperately to regain her footing.

"Yes, all better!" she stammered a little too enthusiastically, but the response seemed to satisfy him and he went on with their conversation while straightening the loose papers on his desk.

"So what is it you needed this evening, hm? If it's chemistry troubles I'm not sure if I can be much help since i'm quite indisposed with grading this paperwork at the moment…"

"Oh, no, I didn't need anything! I just brought you some coffee from the shop," she gestured slightly towards the cup of coffee she'd placed down earlier. "Although, I'm worried about giving you too much caffeine when it looks like you really need to catch up on some sleep, Professor..."

The look of genuine worry knitted between her brows melted him and his prickly mood and he looked at her kindly.

"You're too kind, my dear." he murmured softly, before giving an lopsided smile. "But I'm afraid to say it's my own fault that I'm in this situation. I put off grading these for a couple of weeks now and some of the upperclassmen are pestering me for the results before the next test..."

"Is there anything I can do, Professor…?"

"The coffee is more than enough, Miss. Sofia, thank you." he already had started to sip the drink she had brought him, and was twirling his pen as he grabbed a new paper to begin to read. "You ought to start back towards the dorms before it gets much later, don't you have classes to deal with as well tomorrow?

Her blue eyes searched his desk with a task to busy herself with. Picking up a couple of papers that were heavily marked in corrective notes she started adding them to his previous pile.

"I can organize these papers into their proper classes," she offered, causing Cedric to pause. As much as he loved playing the loner curmudgeon, he had to admit that organization was not his strongest suit - Sofia posed a tempting offer. Unable to muster equal humility to his student, he fished his glasses from his shirt pocket, unfolded the arms with a smart flick of his wrist before putting them back on and focusing again on the paper in front of him.

"Do as you wish," he muttered with forced indifference. Sofia beamed at her minor victory, and pulled up a cushioned chair from the other side of the desk to start her work. The work wasn't 'fun' to say the least, but she allowed herself to take a generous amount of time between tasks to look up at Cedric (and his glasses, and his pushed back hair, and that semi-permanent scowl he always seemed to have when he was reading a particularly _boring_ paper) when she didn't think he was looking and it certainly made the time go by that evening.


	9. Hugo

Sofia wandered into the stables, that housed the equestrian team's horses not far from campus. Her small scholarship waived the usual fees that the other students paid to keep the space impeccable in exchange for her to come in a couple times a month and pitch in with chores. She was told that a list outlining her duties would be left somewhere inside by a stableman, but while walking along the stalls she heard the murmur of a young man's voice.

She peeked around the corner of the next stall where the voice was coming from and saw the dark haired boy from move in day - the one who had snapped at her for bumping into him. He was tending to a pretty looking cream colored mare, brushing her coat with gentle strokes.

Sofia felt a wash of dread once she recognized him. Had he heard her? Would he be mad to see her there? He certainly didn't seem mad at the moment. In fact, a slight smile graced his features as he cooed sweetly to the horse, who matched his affection by nuzzling into him when his brush strokes slowed.

"Alright, alright," he chuckled, and plucked from his pocket a single snowy white sugar cube and lifted it to her. "But just one this time, or we're going to have to move you out of the stables and into a pig pen."

Sofia, forgetting herself for a moment, let a small giggle slip, and immediately regretted it as the boy's shoulders stiffened and he spun to turn to her. He very displeased to see her, his eyes going wide for a moment before narrowing.

"It's you." his voice was borderline venomous.

"It's me~" Sofia said, trying to lighten the mood. At that moment she spotted on the far wall a clipboard hanging from a nail, and she strode over to it and breathed a sigh of relief. The list was short: cleaning some buckets, then sweeping the tack and feed rooms. "Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair soon..."

"Let me guess, you're on the team too?" he muttered, glancing over to her. She nodded, trying not to look too apologetic. She had to remind herself that it wasn't her fault that they were interested in the same things! She started gathering buckets, and was expecting a bigger reaction from him but he simply turned to his mare again.

"Just my luck, huh, Electra?" she heard him murmur. Talking to his horse would have seemed much less charming if he didn't look like a prince out of a storybook when he did it.

Much like when they first met, he was dressed nicely. Almost too nicely for a stable, or at least for any real stable work. She had only gotten a glimpse of his face before, and it had been hard with his frustration at her, but now he just looked tired. It was a more attractive expression to be sure, and Sofia wondered briefly as she scrubbed the buckets how handsome he must be when he was genuinely pleased.

Sofia's next task was to fill the buckets with water and deliver them to each stall, and decided for the sake of getting it over with, to start with Electra's. As she wordlessly walked over to them and placed the bucket down she could feel his eyes on her, and she had a strange feeling he wanted to say something but was conflicted.

"Hey," he said finally when she was about to turn away, and she raised her eyes to meet his, keeping her expression steady, steeling herself for more acidic comments. She was surprised to hear his voice soften. "I...I know I came off as...kind of an ass earlier...both times now I guess."

"Only kind of?" Sofia smirked, and he gave her a surprised look before sighing.

"Okay, I deserve that." he rubbed the back of his neck, and avoided her eyes as he went on. "I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. Again, both times. I know it's not a very good excuse, but I've just been under a lot of stress lately. But if we're going to be teammates we should try and get along, right? I mean, I should try and get along. So can we, like, start over or something?"

He held out a hand to her. She stared at it, then back at him. He looked thoroughly embarrassed, but committed to offering this olive branch. He was right however, if they were going to be seeing more of each other they ought to attempt at being friendly. And Sofia liked to think she was friendly. Still tentative, Sofia placed her hand in his.

"I'm Hugo." he said as his fingers curled over hers, warmer and softer than she expected.

"I'm Sofia." she said, shaking hands. "Nice to meet you, Hugo."

Satisfied, he let go of her hand, and then gestured to the mare next to him.

"Oh, and this is Electra." he added, giving Electra a firm pat on the neck. Sofia smiled, and stroked the horse's coat.

"Why, hello there, Electra. I suppose I'll be seeing a lot of _you_ too, now that I'm assigned regular chores around here."

"Chores?" Hugo asked puzzled. "Did you get reprimanded or something?"

"No," Sofia shook her head and then proceeded to explain the situation. The scholarship, the waived fees, the chores.

"Oh, so that's how it is." Hugo said, after she finished. He walked towards the other water buckets and rolled up his shirt sleeves before kneeling and picking two up. "Still, it doesn't seem fair to have you do that on your own. Let me help you out."

"No, you really don't have to." Sofia said, embarrassed, worrying he thought she had been fishing for pity. He already had plopped those buckets in their respective stalls and was going back for another round.

"It's the least I can do, to make up for before." he said, grabbing two more and striding past her. "Beside, I did this stuff all the time back home for Electra. Here, I'll take care of this and you sweep the feed room, we'll get done sooner."

Sofia nodded, not seeing a point in arguing and grabbed a broom and got to work. She swept up quickly, glancing out the open door at Hugo who had already finished depositing half the buckets of water. His rolled up sleeves revealed a pair of strong looking forearms, that had been hidden under the deceptively fashionable button up and he didn't seem at all tired from the chore even though he was finishing it quicker than Sofia could have. He was more capable than he looked.

"So," Sofia said, trying to fill the quiet between them as they worked. "What has you so stressed out?"

Hugo paused his work, considering the genuine well meaning he could sense under her lighthearted tone.

"To be honest, it's my brother." he stated finally, before continuing his pace from before.

"Your brother?" Sofia blinked up at him.

"Yeah, he's just been driving me nuts since I started school. He's always been protective, but now that I'm going to 'his' school he's trying to 'show me all the ropes' and everyone knows me as 'Axel's Baby Brother'. I know he's just trying to help me out, but I feel like I'm not really having any of my own experiences, you know? The only time I ever really get to be alone is here and in the studio." suddenly, Hugo looked like he felt he was oversharing and turned to refocus on his work, his lips a thin hard line.

"You mean like a dance studio?" Sofia ventured, and he turned to stare at her, surprised she'd guessed. "Those were pointe shoes you dropped on move-in day, right?"

"Yeah," Hugo's cheeks were a little red, and not from the work. "Axel doesn't know about that, and I'd appreciate if you didn't tell anyone."

Sofia nodded and grinned, miming zipping her mouth shut and locking it, throwing the key over her shoulder. Hugo snorted and shook his head.

"Thanks." he said, finishing up with the last of the buckets. "It's just nice to have at least something that I don't have to worry about being compared with my 'amazing' older brother... Anyway, it looks like we're about finished here. Need a lift back to campus?"

"Thanks, I'd take you up on that, but … I have my bike." she looked at him apologetically. She had the urge to keep talking with him for some reason, but she didn't want to keep him any longer. Especially after he'd helped her.

He gave her a smile. One that was confident and casual and belonged to someone who was very much used to getting things he wanted. "I have a trunk. C'mon, let's get your bike."

Sofia swallowed, but followed him out the door without question.

'This boy…' she thought vaguely as she walked beside him towards his car in the dirt lot. His emotions seemed to turn on a dime: volatile one moment, then embarrassed, then brimming with confidence and with each new side she found him more and more _intriguing_.

She didn't know what to expect as he drove her towards the campus dorms, his windows rolled all the way down letting wind whip her chestnut hair around her shoulders, the music playing too loud. Her bike probably leaving dust as it sat in the back of his car.

But she knew, as she watched him staring steadily at the road in front of them, that she had been right: he was indeed quite handsome when he looked pleased and Sofia thought she could get used to it.

* * *

 **an: i know not everyone is a fan of Hugo, but please know that this road to Cedfia in this AU is paved with some Hugfia moments. thank you so much for reading this, i know it's been awhile since my last update and hopefully you weren't too disappointed with the lack of Cedric. i promise i will make up for it soon!**


	10. To Go

Sometime over the course of the last semester of her first year Sofia and Hugo had started dating. Naturally, the moment Amber found out about this she was more than happy to share details of their budding romance to the rest of the university's elite social circle and it wasn't long until everyone of their friends knew that the kind and lovely Sofia was in a somewhat exclusive relationship with the icy but handsome Hugo from the riding team.

Everyone, including Cedric.

Not that Sofia had been the one to tell them. His colleague Greylock, who was much more involved in social media, had been the one to share the news with him after mentioning it to Cedric in passing while scrolling through his feed lazily on his phone during lunch one day.

"Isn't she the one you're mentoring? Sofia, wasn't it?" Greylock pointed to a photo of Sofia in a red and white polka-dotted swimsuit on a picturesque beach somewhere. A darked haired boy he recognized vaguely had a muscular arm wrapped around her bare midriff in a possessive squeeze.

Cedric coughed, a clearing a strange frog that had formed in his throat in his throat as he looked away. "Yes, I suppose it is."

"Well, hasn't she begun to fit in neatly in the hormone charged ecosystem that is our University's dating scene..." chuckled Greylock, not noticing Cedric's jaw clenching and unclenching repeatedly. He scrolled through more photos on his feed. "Ah, it brings me back to my summer flings here as an undergrad…"

Cedric only grumbled in terse response, his mind too much elsewhere for witty banter- that the "guest lecturer" was almost infamous as being always able to find a fling, even today.

Why hadn't she mentioned anything to him? She had numerous opportunities during their lessons and even casual coffee dates. Ungh, 'dates'. The very idea of the word made him scrunch up his nose, as the image of Sofia being held by a handsome young man materialized in his mind.

"Aw, Dipstick~" Greylock's cooing broke him out of his private thoughts. "Could it be that you're ... _jealous_?"

"Certainly not. Oh, just be quiet, you." muttered Cedric grumpily. It wasn't jealousy that was bothering him (or at least that was what he was telling himself). No, the fact that Sofia, who had always been open with him, had omitted such a major event from their numerous conversations over the last few weeks. "It's just a bit odd that she didn't mention anything to me... "

"Not really, old sport, it's natural for students to keep secrets from their teachers." Greylock shrugged, then wagged his eyebrows suggestively. "Even the cute ones that smile at you as they brew you free coffee drinks!"

Cedric's face turned red and he buried his head in his hands. "Ungh! I knew I should have never mentioned that to you…"

"There, there, Spinach-Dip. Your terribly scandalous secret is safe with me~" Greylock chuckled, giving the mortified professor a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

* * *

The impact of Cedric's beloved student in a romantic entanglement with some strange _ruffian_ did not hit him completely until he walked into the Wicked Brew just one week before the end of summer break and saw Hugo leaning over the counter to tuck a stray ringlet of auburn hair behind a giggling Sofia's ear.

Her laughter halted with an "Oh!" at the sudden noise of Cedric clearing his throat, a darkly serious look on his face as he stood behind Hugo. Sofia's eyes grew wide for a moment and Hugo glanced behind him.

"Whoops, didn't mean to hold up the line." he said casually stepping aside. Cedric didn't answer him, and only stepped forward in Hugo's previous place.

Sofia felt enormously self-conscious, having been 'caught' out of the blue like this. She hadn't felt this much shame since her mother caught her stealing candies before dinner when she was six! "A-are you having a good day, professor?" Sofia managed to say through her embarrassment at Cedric seeing her acting so girlishly.

"Not nearly as good as yours, it seems." he replied with a cynical smile. "My usual, to go please, Miss. Sofia."

Sofia nodded sheepishly and punched in the order while Hugo looked between the two of them.

"Well, I'm late for practice…" Hugo said, after what seemed like an awfully long stretch of silence. "It was nice seeing you, Professor...aaaand I'll see you later Sof?"

Cedric gave the slightest nod in the boy's direction, but then did not take his eyes off Sofia as he paid for his drink. Painfully aware of his gaze, Sofia managed to answer her boyfriend's casual question with great effort.

"Y-yeah, of course." she squeaked, and Hugo exited with a smile and a wave. Sofia cautiously looked back towards Cedric, the weight of all the unsaid things between them hanging thicker than the aroma of freshly ground coffee around them.

"...so you're dating the younger Garrick boy." Cedric stated plainly, breaking the fragile silence. He knew from their previous experience that keeping quiet would only worsen things between them and he wanted to avoid any feeling of discomfort for her.

"Yeah, uh, he's Hugo," Sofia replied softly. She couldn't place exactly why she hadn't told Cedric about Hugo sooner, other than it being a very awkward and inappropriate topic to share with your Professor. Which was odd, because considering how Cedric was becoming more and more of a friend to her, sharing such news shouldn't be an issue… but every time she thought about mentioning it a quiet voice in the back of her head stopped her- whispering that it would break the peaceful spell of comfortability between them. But why? She honestly still didn't have a clue of how to approach the conversation that Cedric had breached with her now. "We met through riding practice. He's... nice."

Cedric crossed his arms stubbornly.

"Well, of course he should be _nice_. Especially if you two are-" muttered Cedric testily, before he caught himself acting too involved when he was trying to just the opposite. "...nevermind."

Sofia smiled, thankful that their carefree rapport has returned so easily, like frost thawing in spring. "So is that why you came in today? For coffee and to spy on my personal life?"

Cedric scowled.

"Please Miss. Sofia, I could have definitely gone without seeing that public performance of affection..." he grumbled (only half) jokingly. "No, I wanted to let you know that my very generous Department Head of a Father has finally approved my request to open a teaching assistant position, to aid me in the painstaking effort of educating young minds."

"That's wonderful, Professor Cedric!" Sofia clapped her hands. "You've been totally bogged under the workload of all your classes. I'm so happy for you!"

"Yes, well, about that…" Cedric said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Although the position doesn't open until the start of the new term, I was wondering if you would be interested in taking it on."

"But isn't that a position for more senior students?" she furrowed her brow, puzzled. Cedric clicked his tongue in distaste.

"That group of lazy buffoons? One of them would likely make it harder to work than easier. Besides, they've all gone and brown-nosed Greylock for an internship at Magnus Enterprises..." he grumbled bitterly before his face softened into a heartfelt smile. "You would have been my first choice anyway."

Sofia felt a flutter of pride and...something else... at his words, and found herself speechless trying to identify it. "I..I, um…"

"Of course if you're going to just too busy with your 'nice' personal life…" Cedric said giving her a teasing grin. Sofia's face burned. She couldn't believe it, he had seemed so repulsed by the idea of her dating before, and now he was teasing her for it! Honestly, he was almost worse than Amber!

"Professor!" she protested, her cheeks blushing prettily. "You know that I'm very serious and very dedicated to the Chemistry Department! You tell _Department Head_ Goodwin that I accept the position. And Hugo isn't planning to take any more chem classes, so there won't be any conflict of interest with my 'personal life', as you put it. And here is your coffee."

She held out the steaming paper cup with a triumphant smirk on her face that dazzled Cedric. This girl! This wonderful, charming, _clever_ girl- was going to end up driving him mad as his assistant, wasn't she?! He gathered his emotions and plucked the cup from her hand with a smirk.

"In that case I'll be seeing you on the first day of term. Early morning, if you please."

"I'll be there. With coffee." Sofia smiled, and Cedric found it hard to tear his eyes away from her as they laughed and said their goodbyes.

As he made his way back towards his office to prepare the paperwork, Cedric couldn't help but turn idea of 'Sofia the Assistant' over in his mind. He would be seeing a lot more of her with this arrangement and he couldn't deny that he'd genuinely enjoy that. Additionally, he imagined that he would be making a lot of progress with the research for his book. Mendel's Monkrobes, he might even finish the draft within the year! With Sofia by his side, anything felt possible…

He paused to think about how perhaps with all the tasks he wanted her help on she would be sacrificing much of her free time to help him? Time she could be spending with-

Cedric took a sip of his coffee with a pleased hum on his lips. Maybe he should even encourage Sofia to take on a personal project of her own this year. That her reliable mentor could supervise, of course. As he fished the key to his office from his pocket Cedric couldn't help but smile bemusedly at his evil schemes.

* * *

an: I saw a few comments recently on this story that lost steam while I was busy with work this year and so I decided to revisit the fandom and finally listen to Cedric's ballad and holy smokes… it single-handedly raised this story from my draft's graveyard! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this update after such a long absence! ^^


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